I need some help with this shotgun. This is what I know I have;New Baker Side by Side 12 Ga. - appears to be a damascus barrel - it twistsExposed hammers - 2 triggersLever lock some scroll work on the raised center ribI can't find a serial number or any other ID. It needs a lot of cleaning, mostly surface rustI thank you for your help,

Your shotgun was made by the Baker Gun & Forging Company of Syracuse,NY (1885 to 1889) and Batavia,NY (1890 to 1919). You have the model name correct. The gun was made between 1887 to 1894 in 10 and 12 gauges with 30 or 32 inch twist (damascus) barrels. Open the barrels and look on the flat part of the watertable (the flat part of the frame where the barrels close up) or the bottom of the barrels for the serial number. Sorry but I don't have any serial number-year made tables for this gun. If the gun is rusty, then it's going to be in fair to poor condition.Since it has damascus barrels. I don't recommend you try to shoot it. Just clean it up and put it on the wall or in the gun cabinet.

These "New Baker" trigger-plate hammer doubles based on A.C. McFarland's Patent No. 370,966 granted Oct 4, 1887, were introduced by Syracuse Forging & Gun Co. in 1887. The factory in Syracuse burned in 1888 and the company moved to Batavia, NY. The company name was changed to the Baker Gun & Forging Co. in April 1890. There is a very thorough article by William M. Furnish and Daryl D. Hallquist on Baker hammer doubles in The Double Gun Journal, Volume Nine, Issue 2, pages 63 to 77. Early on these guns had an underbolt and a dollshead rib extension. About March of 1892, they began bolting the gun with a wedge thru a slot in the rib extension. According to the graph in the DGJ article your gun was made about 1894. This model was made thru 1895, then for 1896, they had a diamond engraved on the trigger guard and were marked Model 1896. In 1897 BG&FCo. brought out there sidelock Model 1897 hammer double which was more of a hammer version of their hammerless doubles.

These "New Baker" trigger-plate hammer doubles based on A.C. McFarland's Patent No. 370,966 granted Oct 4, 1887, were introduced by Syracuse Forging & Gun Co. in 1887. The factory in Syracuse burned in 1888 and the company moved to Batavia, NY. The company name was changed to the Baker Gun & Forging Co. in April 1890. There is a very thorough article by William M. Furnish and Daryl D. Hallquist on Baker hammer doubles in The Double Gun Journal, Volume Nine, Issue 2, pages 63 to 77. Early on these guns had an underbolt and a dollshead rib extension. About March of 1892, they began bolting the gun with a wedge thru a slot in the rib extension. According to the graph in the DGJ article your gun was made about 1894. This model was made thru 1895, then for 1896, they had a diamond engraved on the trigger guard and were marked Model 1896. In 1897 BG&FCo. brought out there sidelock Model 1897 hammer double which was more of a hammer version of their hammerless doubles.

This info has been hugely useful for me and a friend who are trying to identify an old shotgun he has. We know for sure it is a Baker Gun & Forging Company shotgun, it is not hammerless, and in fact seems to be very close to the one the original poster was asking about. The serial number on this particular gun is 19801. Neither of us knows too much about shotguns, so some of the terminology is way over our heads here...we would really like to know, as close as possible, what year this gun was made.

The only other info I can provide is that the sideplates are very plain, lacking in any engraving other than "New Baker" which is very faint on both sides. The barrel appears to be a Damascus twist, but I am not 100% sure what that term refers to, so I am not totally convinced this is the case.

Is there any chance anyone here can help us narrow this down? The gun is rough shape, so value is not so much the concern; this is a family heirloom, so the info is more for historical knowledge than anything.

The term damascus refers to the method of making shotguns barrels. Before there were fluid steel barrels or deep hole drilling machines barrels were made using this method. The maker started out with two or three strips of metal (one steel and one or two iron).These were heated, and forged into one long thin narrow ribbon. This one strip was again heated and wrapped (much like a paper towel roller) around a mandrel the diameter of the desired gauge. The joints or edges of the roll were hammer welded into a solid tube. The tube was then honed out to the final diameter. This method created a pattern in the barrel which was considered very pretty (and it was). However the barrel was only strong enough for the ammunition in use which was black powder. It is not considered safe for any smokeless powder either early low pressure or more modern high pressure. Over the years rust and a lack of care and upkeep can cause the welds to deteriorate making the gun even more unsafe to fire. DON"T ATTEMPT TO SHOOT IT!!!

Damascus Twist is a One Iron Crolle-Twist laminate also called London or Baker "Best London Damascus Twist." Very similar pattern barrels are found on LC Smith Maker Baker, H grade Lefever, and Baker Gun & Forging guns

This is a Baker with the ribband seen 'end-on' showing how the thin strips of iron and steel were layered (called piling or faggoting) to form the billet or lopin